WEBVTT

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A ten-year-old girl sneezes for 21 days.

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An Indian game leads to an Indian massacre.

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History proves that it does repeat itself.

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Yes, friends, this is Lindsay McCarrie,

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back once more for another session of Can You Imagine That?

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My cohorts and I have dug up a lot of interesting items

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for your amusement and amazement,

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so if you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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If you'd like to see more of our

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minute and a half.

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minute and a half.

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And back we are.

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You know, written down by historians,

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quoted by almost everyone at one time or another,

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is the Hackneyed and Trite phrase,

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history repeats itself.

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But, Hackneyed as it is, Trite though it may seem,

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it never loses its truth through usage.

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Many are the examples of its proof,

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but one of the most dramatic and startling parallels

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of history to prove this saying,

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I discovered in two sets of newspapers,

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published 300 years apart.

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One set of newspapers were the first to be printed

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in the English language outside of England,

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and the second set was printed in Amsterdam, Holland,

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beginning in the year 1620.

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The other set of news items came from

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dispatches emanating from the same part of Europe as the first,

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but 300 years later.

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Now to begin, listen to this modern

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dispatch of October 18, 1918.

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Be it known that we,

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the people of Czechobohemia,

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have proclaimed the republic

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to be known as Czechoslovakia

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on this day.

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And in July 1920, at the conference of ambassadors,

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it is hereby agreed that the borders

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of the republic of Czechoslovakia

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are confirmed by the decision of this

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conference of ambassadors.

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That was in 1918 and 1920.

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Now go back 300 years

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to the year 1620.

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On November 4, in Prague, Bohemia,

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this scene takes place.

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In the name of the Almighty, in whom we place our trust,

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I crown thee,

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Frederick, King of Bohemia.

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In thy hands hath been placed the protection

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of Bohemia against all invaders,

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against those who would destroy the state.

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Guard it well,

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King Frederick.

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Thus did history repeat itself

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in 1620 when Frederick was crowned

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King of Bohemia, and in 1920

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when the republic of Czechoslovakia

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was confirmed by treaty.

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But, born in trouble, torn with wars,

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that nation has been tossed to and fro

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on the deep and rough waters of international diplomacy.

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Emperor Ferdinand of Austria,

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in an alliance with certain other princes,

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made war on Bohemia.

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A dispatch from an Amsterdam paper

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of the year 1621 states that

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the English ambassador, who has been at the assembly

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of Regensburg, has been told

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that whatever agreement could be arrived at

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had been hindered by the soldiers in Bohemia.

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The troops continue to fight

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with the soldiers of Jagrendorfs in Silesia.

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That was in 1621.

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Now listen to history repeat itself

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again in this dispatch that reached the press

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of the world on September 14, 1938.

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Open fighting broke out today

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in the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia near Eger.

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Two thousand Sudetens,

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armed with machine guns, rifles and pistols,

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battled hundreds of Czech troops and police.

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And still more along the amazing

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parallel of history, from the Amsterdam paper

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of 1620, the enemy has captured

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some of King Frederick's cannon

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together with ammunition, forcing the king

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to retire back into Prague.

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The time again changes,

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but the locale remains the same,

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Bohemia, or Czechoslovakia, the date?

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September 13, 1938.

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Flash to the newspapers of the world

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was this startling announcement, grim in its

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impending threat of war, terrifying in its

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simple finality.

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Dispatch, special bulletin, Prague,

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Czechoslovakia, September the 18th, 1938.

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The Czech government today

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rejected a Sudeten German ultimatum

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which was to have expired at 1 a.m.

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The ultimatum briefly was this,

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that the Czech government withdraw

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a declaration of martial law

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and remove all Czech police from the Sudeten area.

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The Czech government flatly

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refused to bow to the demands.

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War is imminent while street fighting still goes on

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in the Sudeten area.

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Determined to fight off the attack

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threatening independence, Czechoslovakia

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went ahead with war plans, strengthening

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fortifications, mobilizing troops.

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Now, move back in time once more.

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Suddenly, in 1623,

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crushing defeats were overwhelmed the

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Bohemia nation, and in the month of June

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1623, in the city of Sedan,

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sits a man, once

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King Frederick of Bohemia, now

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a man without a nation.

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He writes a letter to his wife.

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The end has come.

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I shall go to Hague, perhaps there

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to plead again.

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Oh, my dearest wife, I would to God that we

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possess but a little corner of the earth

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where we could rest together in peace.

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Thus wrote Frederick,

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King of Bohemia, in 1623.

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And once more, history repeats itself.

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Listen to the parallel.

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The time, October 5, 1938.

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Another man, another century,

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but the situation. Listen.

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Therefore, I, Edward Banish,

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resign my position as president

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of Czechoslovakia,

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because I feel by

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doing so that I shall remove an obstacle

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to the new conditions

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which now confront the state.

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And the finale,

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go back again to the 17th century.

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The tramp of soldiers echoed through the

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streets of Bohemia. General Tilley's men,

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victorious, taking Bohemia in the name

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of their master, the Emperor of Austria.

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Back to the 20th century,

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to October 6, 1938.

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The same country, only the time is different.

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Marching into Bohemia, into Czechoslovakia,

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are troops of a dictator.

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Adolf Hitler's jubilant fighting men.

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The tramp of their boots echoes and re-echoes

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through the streets where once marched the men of General Tilley,

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of Frederick, of Ferdinand.

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Yes, history does repeat itself.

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Ah, ah, ah, achoo!

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Oh, what's all this?

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Sounds like a hay fever convention.

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And if it is, the sufferers can sympathize

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with little 10 year old Bertha Turner

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of Crossville, Tennessee. Why?

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Well, according to a news item we dug up,

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Bertha had started sneezing,

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and for 21 days, just think,

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21 days had kept it up.

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Her family told the doctor that when the sneezing occurred,

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Bertha sneezed as many as 200 times in succession.

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Can you imagine that?

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But fortunately, at last reports, she was recovering.

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Did you know that one of the oldest games

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on the North American continent

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enabled an Indian chief to bring about

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one of the bloodiest massacres in Canadian history?

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Yes, what started out as a game ended up

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in a massacre of almost every English soldier

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in Fort Michilly, Mackinac.

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In 1762,

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Canada became a British possession,

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and the Indian chief Pontiac,

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who hated the English, resented it.

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But he swallowed his pride, apparently,

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and invited the English to witness

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a game of Bagot away, or as we know the game today,

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lacrosse.

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The commandant of the fort wisely declined,

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fearing a trap if his men got too far away from the fort,

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but later in his quarters...

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Come in, come in.

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Pontiac is back, sir.

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Eh? Well, all right, show him in.

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Very good sir.

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Now what do you suppose he's up to, sir?

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Shh. Here he comes.

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We'll find out, lieutenant.

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Great English father,

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it is in your heart to think

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Pontiac speak with double tongue,

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that he plan evil

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while holding up hand of friendship.

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You thought Pontiac's braves

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would attack English soldiers

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while they are out of fort.

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That is not true.

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So Pontiac,

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you are not to blame.

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That is not true.

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So Pontiac has commanded his braves

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to play in front of fort

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where you can watch without leaving fort.

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I say, that's great.

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Lieutenant. Oh, I'm sorry, sir.

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Great Pontiac, we accept.

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May my heart be blackened for thinking evil.

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True to his word,

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Pontiac brought his braves

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to play the game of Bagot away,

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lacrosse in front of the fort.

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The commandant saw to it that the lines of play

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were not posted too near the fort.

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In the middle of the game?

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I say, sir,

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those Indians really play for all their worth.

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Just look at them club each other.

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They have been known to kill each other

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in a game of Bagot away.

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Lieutenant. Yes, sir.

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Doesn't it seem to you that they are moving

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nearer to the fort?

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Why, it does, sir, but that's nothing to worry about.

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Those two medicine men

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marking the goals have been on the move.

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Oh, that often happens, you know.

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Yes, I know. I suppose there's nothing to worry about.

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Of course not, sir.

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We may as well take advantage of old Pontiac's

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gesture of peace and enjoy the game.

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Wait. What is it, sir? What's the matter?

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Quickly, order all the men into the fort.

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This is a trap. Those Indians are reaching for Tomahawks.

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They wouldn't do that if they were just playing a game.

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The game has given them their chance to get close to the fort.

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You're right, sir. It was a trap.

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It's too late to get back to the fort.

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They're all surrounded.

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And it was a trap.

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Under cover of the game of lacrosse,

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the Ottawa Indians surrounded the English soldiers,

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poured into the fort, and Tomahawked

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every Englishman in sight.

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Thus, what started out as a game ended up as a bloody massacre.

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Well, comes now the time for another oddity in music,

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or rather, we should say, similarity.

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In browsing around the world of music,

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we've picked up quite a lot of interesting facts.

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And here's one you can play detective with.

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First, we're going to let you listen to our pianist

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play a bit of Russell of Spring.

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Now, listen again.

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Did you catch any resemblance to a popular number of a few years back?

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Well, rather than have curiosity get the better of you,

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we'll play the popular number for you.

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It's Sweet Little You.

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It's Sweet Little You.

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It's Sweet Little You.

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It's Sweet Little You.

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Well, now, once more, it's time to take our leave

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as we turn you over to the able care of your own announcer.

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Mrs. Lindsay McCurry saying to you, goodbye now.

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Goodbye.

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Goodbye.

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Goodbye.